Chapter 115 - Chapter 18: Auction #7
In Knight Saga, it had been Year 515 when he fought the barbarians beyond the limit line.
At that time, Caitlin had been much weaker than she was during the lycanthrope subjugation in Year 516, but that was because she had still been a teenage girl.
The already mature Paratus would have a similar strength to Mad Dog Jiks. Paratus’ strength was at least that of an intermediate general. However, he was much fiercer than Mad Dog Jiks, and he was also aiming for In-gong’s life.
‘The unique characteristic of barbarians is their Body Hardening technique!’
As the name suggested, it was a technique that strengthened the body. However, it wasn’t a skill that could be acquired. Just as dragon technique required dragon characteristics, the barbarian’s Body Hardening required a body that inherited the blood of a barbarian.
After triggering Body Hardening, Paratus’ upper body swelled. The suit he was wearing tore apart in an instant, revealing a grey shell, that was like a crustacean’s, which covered the skin. It went beyond strengthening the body and appeared more like he was forming an armour around it.
Paratus normally carried a large weapon in Knight Saga, but he was now bare-handed. However, In-gong wasn’t fully alert, and Paratus didn’t miss this moment.
Kwang!
A huge crack formed on the ground where Paratus had been, but In-gong didn’t confront Paratus, who was like a runaway train. He avoided the blow quickly using Wind Style.
Kwa kwang!
Paratus’s fist struck the place where In-gong was standing. The floor that was hit by the hardened fist cracked and dozens of stones flew up.
In-gong looked at the floor and Paratus at the same time. As In-gong used Wind Style again, he transferred aura into Earth Quaker.
Paratus turned toward In-gong. As White Eagle and Black Eagle rushed toward Paratus, In-gong poured aura, magic power and divine power into Earth Quaker.
It was a different feeling from when he fought Mad Dog Jiks.
There was no sense of incompatibility with Earth Quaker. It was as if Earth Quaker had been made for In-gong from the beginning. The flow of aura had also changed. Earth Quaker accepted In-gong’s aura naturally. Not only was the aura absorbed faster than before, the absorption efficiency was even better now.
Amita had strengthened White Eagle externally; Black Eagle had been added, and there were new accessories.
Earth Quaker had been tuned, and the Great Enkidu’s equipment was now reborn as In-gong’s.
While In-gong focused all his consciousness on it, Paratus read White Eagle’s and Black Eagle’s movements and rushed toward one side. In-gong continued to inject aura into Earth Quaker.
It took a few seconds for Paratus to catch up with In-gong, who retreated again and activated Night Watch’s Blink.
Blink was different from the magic installed in the transportation formations. It only moved a short distance, and there had to be no obstacles between the caster and the target destination. Night Watch’s Blink could be used three times a day.
A dark blue fog appeared as the second Blink was triggered, and Paratus’ punch went through the air. In-gong landed on the ground 10 meters away, but Paratus didn’t stop and searched around for In-gong like a wild beast.
However, 10 meters was not a short distance, and Paratus narrowed the distance between him and In-gong in an instant.
Instead of blinking or stepping back, In-gong ran toward the spot where Paratus had first hit the ground.
“You!”
Paratus cried out angrily. As In-gong kept on running away, Paratus was incensed.
However, In-gong just ignored it. Rather, he was hoping that Paratus would lose his temper. During the few seconds of time Blink had created, he inserted more aura into Earth Quaker.
Paratus had an ominous and urgent feeling. In-gong was focusing power on his right hand, and it seemed like a big thing that might explode at any moment.
Paratus roared loudly. The powerful energy from the roar was a weapon in itself. It would cause the body to freeze momentarily.
However, In-gong just ignored Paratus’s roar. In-gong had endured the gaze of the demon king. So, he didn’t even need to use the power of the Tears of a Dark Elf as he ignored Paratus’ roar and prepared the technique.
Paratus, who rushed toward In-gong as soon as he roared, hesitated. Indeed, he had the gut instinct of a beast. Instead of rushing toward Paratus, In-gong raised his fist high.
He couldn’t allow Paratus to get the golden helmet, but that didn’t mean he had to deal with Paratus here. Right now, Paratus didn’t have the golden helmet. It was In-gong who had it!
‘True Destruction!’
This was Earth Quaker's super special move. A white aura spread as In-gong’s knuckles hit the ground. Like collapsed dominoes, hundreds of cracks covered the ground instantly.
Paratus’ mouth dropped open, but In-gong hadn’t used True Destruction on Paratus.
Kwaaaaaang!
In-gong had seen the aftermath of True Destruction in Spider Forest, where the terrain had been destroyed. He had hit the ground directly, so it couldn’t endure the pressure despite In-gong controlling the power. The thick stone floor, that was a few meters in diameter, broke into dozens of pieces, and Paratus fell along with the floor.
Takar’s auction house was located in a sunny spot, not the shade. Furthermore, under the auction house, there was a wall with a high ceiling of approximately 20 meters.
In-gong, who had grasped the floor plan of the auction house from the mini-map, had no intention of having a full frontal battle with Paratus from the very beginning. The most important thing had been to secure Nayatra and the golden helmet, not fight the boss on the premises.
Thanks to Night Watch’s ability to fly, In-gong flew up and stepped on White Eagle. He could hear Green Wind crying that she didn’t want to lose to Night Watch.
In-gong looked down below. The damage was so enormous that it seemed like the building itself was going to collapse. Additionally, he couldn’t see Paratus because he was buried in heavy debris.
In-gong was satisfied with this much.
It was unlikely that Paratus would die from this, but he would take a long time to climb back up. At that point, he might be blocked by subordinates of Takar’s ruler, Vulcanus, and be unable to return at all.
In-gong stopped thinking about Paratus and flew in the direction that Carack had headed toward. It wasn’t long before he found Carack’s hiding place through the mini-map.
‘Prince!’
Carack mouthed while hiding against a wall. He was hugging Nayatra tightly with one hand, while his other hand covered her mouth.
‘A complete kidnapper.’
He felt sorry for Carack, but there was no other interpretation of the scene. In-gong jumped from White Eagle and approached Carack.
"There was the sound of fighting over there, so I had to hide.”
In-gong nodded. Carack was currently unarmed, and he was carrying Nayatra. He would be unable to counterattack properly, so going out would just lead to death.
"What about that big guy? I heard a huge sound.”
"I made it so he can’t chase us.”
In-gong responded and looked at Nayatra. He could only see half her face since it was covered by Carack’s large hand, but she was accepting the situation quite calmly.
It was indeed Nayatra, who had been called the ‘Ice Knight’ among Zephyr’s subordinates. Instead of struggling to escape from Carack, Nayatra stared straight into In-gong’s eyes.
Fear and wonder could be seen in that calmness. In-gong narrowed the distance with Nayatra, and instead of giving her the same greeting as when he had first encountered Vandal, In-gong delivered a name to her through magic.
'Rafiseria.’
At that moment, Nayatra’s eyes widened. She tried to speak despite her mouth being blocked,
‘How— How do you know that name!’
Nightmares were a species known for indulgence, but there was a contradiction. Although they joined their bodies easily with others, they had one true love.
There was only one in their life, and once found, they would never betray their love. Even their parents weren’t allowed to know their true name. This name was something that only their true love would know.
‘The path that Zephyr used to learn it was a bit different though.’
A nightmare slave was forced to tell their master their true name. Since the name itself contained magic, the nightmare couldn’t go against their master.
‘Rafiseria.’
Nayatra fell into confusion after hearing her true name. The calmness, that hadn’t been lost due to the kidnapping, collapsed completely.
In-gong glanced at Carack, who then let Nayatra go. In-gong grabbed Nayatra’s hand and said,
"I'll explain everything later. Just follow me once. I don’t mean to do anything to you.”
Nayatra’s eyes shook, and she bit her lip before nodding.
“I understand. It is an emergency, so I will listen to the story later.”
"Yes, thank you."
In-gong sighed with relief, not that it was unlikely that she would vanish.
‘There is a high chance that I have the things Nayatra is looking for.’
In fact, he had one more reason to smash the floor and destroy the place where the auction items were stored. He had placed the auction items in his inventory.
In Knight Saga, Vulcanus was like a villainous merchant, so In-gong’s conscience wasn’t affected.
Moreover, if he left the items there, they would have been lost or destroyed by Paratus.
‘It is a good thing. Uhh, yes. That’s right.’
In-gong coughed and opened his inventory hurriedly. He didn’t know what items he had gotten aside from the Dragon King’s Golden Helmet, but now wasn’t the time to look through them one by one.
In-gong took out a dwarf axe and shield and threw them to Carack.
Then In-gong looked back at Nayatra. She was amazed by In-gong, who had pulled the axe and shield out of the air. However, Nayatra held a dagger in her hands—she was a skilled thief and assassin.
"Nayatra, follow me. And Carack, I will lead the way. Protect my back.”
“Understood. Be careful, Prince.”
Carack smiled and stepped back. Nayatra’s eyes widened again.
“P-prince?”
The shock in her eyes wasn’t like when females met the idol singers they worshipped but a pleasant surprise in the eyes that were as calm as a lake.
‘That reminds me, didn’t Nayatra like fairy tales?’
Moreover, it seemed like her personality was more active than it had been before she became a slave in Knight Saga.
"I will also explain that later.”
In-gong said with a smile before starting to run.
&
“Shutra!”